ICP Teen Academy

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Rónán Selby-Curran



Birds migrate mostly at night. Relying on the moon and stars for navigation and orientation. New York is an essential stopping point along the Atlantic Flyway where birds pause and rest along their travels to refuel on insects and nourish on native plants, seeds and berries. How are humans impacting birds and leading to their population decline, further decreasing keystone species? How is their environment changing?

Window strikes and light pollution can pose a serious risk to birds especially during their migration. Environmental degradation is occurring through housing and expanding development leading to fewer wetlands, marshes and diminished shorelines. Whether you’re outside in Central Park, near the ocean or on Long Island, you can observe graceful migrating flocks in the water, high up in trees or in grasslands as they swarm by foraging for food and seeking shelter. The interconnectedness of our relation to birds may not at first be evident. Only by heightening our sensitivity to wildlife, can we begin to appreciate the importance of preserving wild spaces within our urban sprawl for the bird’s survival. Through my photography I want to highlight the beauty and diversity of birds and encourage people to take time to look more closely at the natural landscapes around us all that many often take for granted. It is essential to realise that on top of shifts from climate change, the critical impacts we have on rapid habitat loss are of timely importance for us to take notice.
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Rónán is a current International Center of Photography student in the Imagemakers programme from New York City. He enjoys photographing nature, wildlife, landscapes, transportation and geometric angles of architectural cityscapes. His love for the outdoors started in the Adirondacks at a young age hiking, snowshoeing and paddleboarding in the mountains. His formal introduction to photography began in the autumn of 2019 at a Queens Botanical Garden pinhole camera workshop, leading to analog, black and white classes at ICP at THE POINT & Teen Academy. His work has been exhibited in San Francisco’s 2021 Presidio "My Parks Moment" exhibition celebrating the reopening of the Presidio Tunnel Tops as well as in various parks during Photoville’s Festival in NY for the past 5 years.